Page 53 - Demo

TourismISSUE 36 APRIL 2025 53My thoughtsThere are lots of changes that we need in Africa right now. And just like I began to see the beauty of the Ugandan clay brick houses, simply because I have been taking the time to engage the African narratives, so should every African begin to shift and then shape their minds about what it means to be African. I have a few thoughts I want to share.I believe that every place in Africa, especially historical monuments, should be changed from European names back to their original African names. We cannot keep telling ourselves the lie that some random European explorers, or spies if you will, discovered and also named places that Africans have always known and lived on. It%u2019s just stupid to think of it. Omugga Kiyiira should not be designated as the %u201clocal name%u201d of the Nile River; Omuga Kiyiira is its only name. Any European name that the river now bears is just a signature of foreign intrusion into Africa. Period!Also, it is said that Omugga Kiyiira flows from its source in Jinja, through Central and Northern Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, Egypt, and then pours into the Mediterranean Sea. Its tributaries also passed through Ethiopia. But I have been thinking about the unnatural movement of the water of the Nile River. Rivers or waters naturally flow downwards and not upwards. But this water, as we are made to believe, is flowing from Uganda upwards to Egypt in the North. Is it that the African map is warped, so that South Africa is supposed to be the North of Africa and Egypt is the South of Africa? It%u2019s something to think of.One of the tour guides shared something with me about Lake Victoria. Nalubaale is the Luganda name for Lake Victoria. Also, the original tribes around Lake Victoria in Uganda include the Buganda and Busoga peoples. The Buganda kingdom, which is the largest traditional kingdom in present-day East Africa, consists of the Central Region of Uganda, including the capital Kampala. The Buganda people, known as Baganda, make up approximately 16% of Uganda%u2019s population.In conclusion, Uganda remains one of the places that I have visited in Africa, and I would love to visit again. So, if you are thinking of a place to travel to for your next African trip, I ask that you add Uganda to that list. I love the Luganda language; the way it flows and coils makes you remember the waters of the Omugga Kiyiira. A typical clay bricks oven Image: Samuel Phillips